Osteopathic Doctor Personal Statement

One of the main missions of the university is to help underserved communities. I believe that both my personal and academic experience has engrained in me the qualities that are essential for completing medical school and becoming a doctor. I want to become an osteopathic doctor that is involved in the community and serves those who lack proper health care. My primary care doctor, who is an osteopathic doctor, influenced my decision to pursue osteopathic medicine. She taught me that osteopathic medicine consists of treatment with holistic approaches, and it involves an education in physical manipulation. This aspect is particularly of interest to me because this is an approach that is used in India. Overall, I believe that I am a thoroughly qualified candidate to pursue a DO degree from Touro college of Osteopathic Medicine. The sheer pleasure I derive from helping people and sharing what I know, coupled with the mental stimulation intrinsic to the profession, make medicine the clear career pathway for

I believe that a human being is a unit of body, mind, and spirit and everything is interrelated, and I am interested in patients as a whole and I want to spend time with them to get to know as a person, such as who they are, where are they from, and their life stories, which will benefit me in finding causes so I can not only treat the resulting symptoms but also treat the underlying problem. I believe body has its ability to self-heal and I want to help patients not only with their physical problems but also issues with lifestyle, emotional well-being, and environment. I witnessed how Dr. Truong applied the philosophy of osteopathic medicine into his practice. He spent time to educate his patients and helped them establish good eating and exercises habits. He asked his patients to set up a life goal and constantly reminded them of working towards this goal during their weekly visit. Other osteopathic physicians I shadowed are not practicing OMM now, but they still benefit from their trainings in osteopathic medical schools by looking at patients as a whole. For example, the psychiatrist Dr. Sharma used a formula with three factors, Biology, psychology, social to diagnose patients and she said her training reminder her to focus on the whole picture instead of just a

Truthfully, as an undergraduate I knew very little about the osteopathic profession. In 2013, however, I began working as a medical scribe with Dr. Ghaffari-Greene, DO, in the Sibley ER and she opened my eyes to the beauty of osteopathic medicine. Thanks to Dr. Ghaffari-Greene, and a number of other osteopathic physicians in the ER, I have come to understand what osteopathic medicine is all about. Three years after my first exposure to the osteopathic profession, I continue to be motivated to become an osteopathic physician for many reasons. These include the following:

I first learned about osteopathic medicine through admissions workshop in graduate school. Osteopathic medicine’s emphasis on primary care and helping medically underserved communities truly appealed to me. As I delved further about its philosophy in the books, I am also interested by the fact that osteopathic physicians are trained to focus on health, not the disease. This will improve the overall well-being of a patient and prevent diseases. In Burma, I faced the challenges of substandard health care and education, without clean water, food or public sanitation. All these experiences, complicated by my bouts of tuberculosis and typhoid taught me at a young age to appreciate the value of a healthy life.

The following words by Aristotle, “Whole is greater than the sum of its parts”, resonate deeply with my personality. As a human and future physician, I believe one must learn to look at the whole picture of any situation instead of dwelling on certain parts. Since the age of seven, I have been attracted to the field of osteopathy. I grew up in a small town, where there were not a lot of doctors in the area. Whenever I went to visit a doctor there was at least one to two hour wait. While waiting for the doctor, I noticed how people’s facial expression and muscle would slightly relax after visiting the doctor’s office, even if it was for less than five minutes. Even though not all patients received good news, they seemed a bit relaxed after knowing what their next step of treatment will be. As long as I can remember I wanted to be the reason behind someone’s relaxed face or smile by providing everything possible within my power.

I have chosen osteopathic medicine as my professional choice in becoming a physician, because I have a passion for the healthcare field and learning, I want to be able to help others and give back to the community and I believe that medicine is evolving towards an osteopathic approach which takes into account the body as a whole. Passion is the driver behind any good physician. I am always looking to learn and improve upon my performance in whatever I am doing. Whether it was undergraduate coursework, medical shadowing, EMT training, or community service I put forth my fullest effort into the task at hand. Every moment in medicine and life in general is a valuable learning experience. Osteopathic medicine will force me outside of my comfort zone and many mistakes will be made along the way, but I look forward to tackling the challenges ahead of me and in the end it will allow me to become the best physician possible.

I chose to pursue a career as a physician in osteopathic medicine for several reasons mainly relating to the nature and philosophy of osteopathy. My first reason is the the extra set of tools osteopathic physicians use to diagnose and treat patients. Osteopathic physicians are trained to use their hands to reorient muscles and joints to improve the body’s natural healing processes. By doing so, patients can reduce their dependence on prescribed medications or surgeries to treat their symptoms. My second reason is that I am interested in studying the wide variety of common health problems osteopathic medicine can diagnose and heal such as environmental allergies, asthma, and hypertension. My third reason is because I plan to offer the most effective

I want to become a service oriented, competent, and compassionate physician who upholds the founding philosophies of Osteopathy while healing the community. With its rich history, willingness to serve, and emphasis on spirituality, KCU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine will be the perfect place to reach my career goals.

I have always had my mind set on becoming a physician. As I sat in my academic advisor’s office during my second year of college, I came to know that there were two types of medical schools, osteopathic and allopathic. I was interested to know the difference, so I started my research. I gathered information from the AACOM and AOA websites, and learned the history, philosophy, and educational curriculum of osteopathic medicine. I desired to learn more, so I made a visit to the osteopathic school near my college. Along with four other students, I sat through an interesting lecture about various bone disorders, witnessed a physician practice OMT, and met with various instructors. The connections I made that day led me to the opportunity to shadow an osteopathic physician who has truly become a role model to me. I learned

Although I have not shadowed an osteopathic physician, my experience within the field of osteopathy derives from a more personal experience. As the patient of an osteopathic physician, I am most fascinated with the multiple modalities that my physician uses within her practice. Throughout my course of visits, I have witnessed that her practice encompasses an integrative approach in which treatments include, but are not limited to, osteopathic manipulative medicine, traditional medications and surgery. I have also noted that my primary care physician always obtained a comprehensive view of current symptoms as well as lifestyle practices. I believe that these two views allows her to detect any interconnections and assess any underlying causes

My desire to be an osteopathic physician came after attending an OMM session during my gap years as a research fellow at the NIH. This experience contributed to my interest in osteopathic medicine, as I was intrigued by the musculoskeletal manipulation techniques, and deeply appreciated the hands-on, holistic approach to patient care. I feel strongly that training as an osteopath, will prove invaluable in my career as I work deliver quality treatment to underserved communities.

I discovered my passion for medicine. Conversing with patients is something that I found great joy in. Few other professional fields offer such connections to a wide range of human beings. I have been given advice I will never forget, and learned things about the world in a unique way. This offered an opportunity for spiritual, cultural and personal growth, and vice versa in the case of the patient.

My desire to become an osteopathic physician was nurtured by various experiences I’ve had in

Osteopathic medicine Practitioner (DO) vs Galen trained medical practitioner (MD). Many people have their preference in which they like their primary care physician (PCP) to be. This can be due to the fact on what the overall background of the practitioner’s education was based on. Some people may not understand the difference between these two practitioners and may think that one is higher than the other in their education level.

It is with great pleasure that I write this letter in support of Johan Garel, PA-C and his desire to attend osteopathic medical school. Though many prospective students ask me to make this request on their behalf, I only recommend individuals whom I feel are highly motivated and well-suited for the program of their choice. I have had the pleasure of working with Johan Garel for more than a year in the emergency room. Johan is one of those individuals who is, clearly dedicated to the study and practice of the medicine. Therefore, I highly recommend that he be given the opportunity to attend your institution.